As Novac/Lidija Kiseljak/zupan.hr writes on the 21st of August, 2020, "Mala Barka 2: The preservation of the maritime heritage of the northern Adriatic" is a project from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with which they entered the finals of the selection for the best EU county project within the Contribution to cross-border cooperation category. The project is part of the Interreg V-A Slovenia - Croatia 2014 - 2020 cooperation programme and relates to the location of the border area that includes Kvarner and Istria, as well as the Slovenian Littoral just across the border.

The project lasted from the 1st of October 2016 to the 31st of March 2019. The project holder itself is Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the partners are the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral of Rijeka, the Association and Ecomuseum “House of Batana” Rovinj - Associazione Ecomuseo “Casa della batana” Rovigno, the Municipality of Izola - Comune di Isola, the Izola Tourist Association - Ente per il turismo Isola, the Municipality of Piran - Comune di Pirano and Maritime Museum - Museo del mare “Sergej Masera” Piran - Pirano.

The value of the project stands at an enormous 2,124,018.17 euros, of which the amount of 1,805,415.44 euros is covered by the European Regional Development Fund. The financial part related to Primorje-Gorski Kotar County stood at 540,141.41 euros and the amount of 459,120.20 euros was co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund.

Maritime heritage is a great and untapped tourist potential of the northern Adriatic and unfortunately the urbanisation and modernisation of society are erasing the traditional maritime heritage of this area, which could largely disappear irretrievably.

''Our motive, but also our challenge, was how we can find a way to permanently protect and promote the valuable and rich maritime heritage of Kvarner and this part of the Adriatic. Therefore, the main goal of the project is the preservation, protection, promotion and development of the maritime heritage of the border area through tourist valorisation and based on the principles of sustainable tourism. This project sought to maximally protect the existing tangible and intangible maritime heritage throughout the coastal part of the border area and to use it systematically through a series of measures (the setting up of interpretation centres, holding educational and demonstration events, the establishment of a virtual museum, etc)'' they say from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

The Mala barka (Little boat) project started back in 2015 and continued with "Mala barka 2".

''We've upgraded our maritime network by creating small floating ''open-air museums'' - restored traditional wooden boats and interpretation centres in Krk and Losinj. The biggest attraction is the floating Interpretation Centre for Maritime Heritage of the Island of Losinj, the Nerezinac camp. We also included experts in maritime heritage in this project.

Furthermore, we invited skilled masters of traditional construction who participated in the renovation processes, and passed on their knowledge to younger generations through the Academy of Maritime Crafts and Skills. They also joined the traditional interpretation events and presented their knowledge and skills to visitors and tourists. We haven't forgotten to highlight other important forms of maritime heritage, such as old ports, museums, old maritime factories, craft workshops and other smaller maritime elements. Our goal was to make it visible and recognisable,'' they say from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

Furthermore, a strong promotional campaign was conducted based on many traditional events, including traditional small boat regattas, exhibitions of restored old wooden boats, etc. Cross-border tourism itineraries were also developed in the name of this prokect. A virtual museum was created, which enables the availability of the entire tangible and intangible maritime heritage to all groups of society. The practice was even transferred to Italy as part of the current implementation of the Arca Adriatica project, which is implemented within the Interreg Italy-Croatia Cooperation Programme 2014-2020.

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August 5, 2020 - The Natural History Museum Rijeka participates as a partner in as many as four EU projects. Within them, it has so far carried out numerous activities, from research and protection of biological diversity to the design of educational programs.

T.portal reports that Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the founder of the institution, announced on Wednesday that the museum is a partner in the projects "LIKE - Life on the Karst Edge", "CLAUSTRA + - Cross-border destination of cultural and green tourism Claustra Alpium Iuliarum", "KRASn'KRŠ - Protection and valorization heritage and the development of sustainable tourism in the cross-border karst landscape and the Cultural and Tourist Route "Frankopan Roads".

The area of interest of the project "LIKE - Life on the Karst Edge" is the karst edge, a series of steep rocks and limestone slopes in Slovenia and Croatia in northern Istria, across Ćićarija to Učka.

In this area, the long-term interaction of man and nature has produced distinctive biological, cultural and aesthetic values, and maintaining this relationship is necessary for their preservation, the county points out.

The rich natural potential of the area is under increasing pressure from visitors, but also long human activities, given the proximity of densely populated areas on the Koper-Trieste and Opatija side.

Within this project, the museum protected and restored biological diversity, by establishing a joint program for the management and monitoring of Natura 2000 with Slovenian partners.

Necessary equipment for additional field and laboratory research was procured, a special part of the Botanical Garden next to the museum building was arranged, intended for the protection of plant species in a special protection regime.

The Natura 2000 educational program was designed and implemented, within which online materials were prepared and more than 40 workshops were conducted in the museum and other locations.

The goal of the "CLAUSTRA +" project is the tourist evaluation of the remains of the ancient defense complex Claustra Alpium Iuliarum from Rijeka to the area along the Soča in Slovenia.

The museum participated in about fifty lectures, workshops and guided tours in the museum and in the field. The "Roman Night in Nature" event was held twice, next to the preserved remains of the defensive wall near Studena, north of Rijeka.

Field research was carried out with the aim of establishing a model of vegetation in Roman times, and a Roman garden with plants used by the Romans and which once grew in the area of the Claustra complex was opened in the Botanical Garden of the museum.

As part of the "KRASn'KRŠ" project, work was done on adapting the tourist offer to the needs of modern visitors in connection with the four existing karst heritage sites in Sežana, Škocjan Caves, Brod na Kupi and Punat, which were upgraded to interpretation centers and the museum developed an umbrella interpretation strategy. 

A multimedia interdisciplinary presentation of karst and a traveling exhibition was designed and the first Karst Festival was held.

Among other activities, the Natural History Museum Rijeka traced an educational trail in the wider area of Mali Platak and opened the Visoki Krš Interpretation Center as part of the arrangement of a new permanent exhibition in the Zrinski Castle in Brod na Kupi.

The museum is a partner in the project "Cultural and tourist route Frankopan Roads", with the aim of protecting and presenting the cultural heritage of the noble Frankopan family in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, which includes 17 castles and three sacral buildings.

The permanent exhibition in Kaštel Zrinski will show the natural heritage of the Kupa Valley and Gorski Kotar in an attractive way and with the use of the most modern museography approaches and technologies, from the Kupa and life in it, mountain forests and their inhabitants to the highest mountain peaks.

Visitors will be able to learn more about living conditions in different habitats, about rare and endangered species, but also about the traditional coexistence of man and nature in this area. The arrangement of this exhibition is expected at the end of 2020, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County reported.

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ZAGREB, March 24, 2020 - Primorje-Gorski Kotar County has received a letter of support from the Chinese province Liaoning with the message that the coronavirus can be defeated and that measures and restrictions can contribute to that.

The letter arrived via email from the international cooperation office of the Liaoning province, with which Primorje-Gorski Kotar County has been nurturing friendly relations for many years.

Liaoning said that the stringent measures taken by the Chinese government regarding the coronavirus, as well as the restrictions residents had to deal with, had been fruitful.

The province of Liaoning, which has a population of about 43 million, 127 cases of infection have been registered. To date, all of them have been discharged from hospital, except for a patient who arrived from Spain and is still being treated, the letter says.

It also underscored that people have been slowly returning to work in Liaoning and that the economy has started to recover.

In the letter they say that the epidemic will end, but they underscore that their experience shows that precautionary measures do not come to an abrupt end and that Chinese citizens continue to wear face masks.

Due to everything it entails, the epidemic is a challenge not only to our lifestyle but also to the way we think, the letter from Liaoning underscores.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, December 12, 2019 - The Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Assembly on Thursday endorsed a motion to amend the county's physical plan to facilitate new investment in the economy at the initiative of the JANAF, Delmont and Lošinjska Plovidba companies and Dobrinj municipality on Krk island.

One of the initiatives is to expand the capacity of the JANAF oil pipeline operator's terminal in Omišalj. The initiative envisages building six 80,000 m3 storage facilities for crude oil, which will replace the existing 40,000 m3 tanks; and building three 15,000 m3 storage facilities for oil products and replacing one 5,000 m3 tank with a 20,000 m3 tank.

The plan is also to connect the Omišalj terminal to the Urinj refinery with a pipeline for oil products which will be laid along the existing pipeline from the refinery to the terminal.

The motion also envisages amending the physical plan so that a state shipbuilding port can be built in the area of the Kraljevica shipyard, where the Dalmont company is currently doing business, which would facilitate further investment in the shipyard.

The plan is also to change the administrative definition of the Privlaka marina in Mali Lošinj, which will be included in a plan with a number of port basins instead of the previously designated two in order to avoid expensive infrastructure works.

Also, the Blato-Meline health tourism resort in Dobrinj will be built at another location because there has been no interest among investors for the existing one.

More news about Primorje-Gorski Kotar county can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Ever since Croatia joined the European Union (EU) back in July 2013, the country has seen European Union funds made readily available to it across various different categories, and Croatia has taken part in many EU initiatives and praiseworthy projects. As Morski writes on the 25th of August, 2019, this, the latest in a long line of EU projects joined in by Croatia, is the Blue Islands project, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (Primorsko-Goranska) in western Croatia is participating.

The Blue Islands project, which is a project of the European Union and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the INTERREG V-B MEDITERRANEAN Transnational Cooperation Program 2014-2020, has been put in place to attempt to identify and mitigate some, if not all of the effects of seasonal increases in the amount of waste generated in the Mediterranean islands as a result of tourism.

This is a topic that has attracted a lot of attention, particularly over the last several years, as the general awareness among the public about the damage the use of certain materials causes to the planet has begun to come to the forefront of people's minds. Croatia's population shoots up incredibly during the warm summer months, as does the amount of waste left behind.

More specifically, during the summer, the population on the Mediterranean islands increases significantly, which, while being very beneficial for the local economy and local residents, is at the same time an enormous burden the local infrastructure of Croatia's islands.

The aim of the Blue Islands project is to promote sustainable tourism and raise awareness among locals and tourists about the need to keep the beaches clean, in Croatia and beyond, with the entire Mediterranean region in mind.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If you're interested in the initiatives focused on caring for the environment which exist in Croatia, give Total Eco Croatia a follow.

ZAGREB, May 13, 2019 - Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Prefect Zlatko Komadina on Monday warned that the police were having more and more difficulty in controlling the "green section" of the state border in Gorski Kotar and that the migrant pressure and illegal entries into Croatia had increased with the coming of spring, which way why he called for deploying additional forces to assist local police.

"We are faced with a serious problem and it is not new. Naturally, the problem needs to be resolved at the source, where migrations originate, however, that is a global story and we cannot influence it. What we can impact is the security of our borders, primarily the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina," Komadina told a press conference.

He added that he had asked the ministers of defence and the interior as well as Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to send additional forces to assist local police "because it is difficult to control the green areas of the county when migrants disperse."

He underscored that local residents are concerned for their security and that they do not wish to create any panic, however, "the fact is that with the arrival of spring migrant pressure has increased and I expect an adequate response from the relevant ministries."

Komadina also commented on a court decision made earlier in the day to open bankruptcy proceedings for the Uljanik dock, saying that this was the result of the government's inaction and bad decisions by Uljanik's management.

"Had the government wanted to prevent the bankruptcy, it wouldn't have happened. I regret that the court didn't wait for the response from the potential Chinese investor, but the fact is that the bankruptcy is primarily the result of the government not taking action and the poor decisions by Uljanik's management. It is important that this decision does not directly impact the 3. Maj dock," Komadina said.

"The period leading up to the bankruptcy hearing for 3. Maj gives hope of some recovery if the government wants it because opportunities do exist. 3. Maj's management has put forward a number of recommendations to the relevant minister and government and I personally believe that it does not have to go into liquidation," Komadina said in reference to the Rijeka-based shipyard, which, along with the Pula-based Uljanik dock, is part of the Uljanik shipbuilding group.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 26, 2019 - The head of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Zlatko Komadina, on Thursday met with a delegation of the China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector (CICCPS) and the Huzhou Mingshuo Optoelectronic Technology company, who were informed of cooperation possibilities in the city of Rijeka and the rest of the county.

The Chinese delegation expressed interest in cooperation in developing new technologies and smart cities and were shown local potential in that regard, including enterprise zones and the possibility for Chinese partners to position themselves in the region as the door to Europe, said Komadina.

He recalled that the county had been cooperating with the Chinese province of Liaoning for years.

A representative of the Chinese delegation, Feng Weidong, said that the delegation was investigating the possibility of making Rijeka a basis for expansion to the European market.

"Our transformation into a smart region is the right way to make both the region and its cities interesting to partners, in this case Chinese partners," said the head of the county development agency, Vedran Kružić.

The CICCPS, approved by the State Council and Ministry of Civil Affairs, brings together around five million business people and it has been working on helping establish cooperation between Croatian and Chinese entrepreneurs.

Huzhou Mingshuo Optoelectronic Technology, based in Beijing, provides high-power LED-lighting equipment and integrated lighting solutions and it has shown interest in improving public lighting in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, county officials have said.

More news about relations between Croatia and China can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 23, 2019 - Ericsson Nikola Tesla and Rune Crow have signed a contract for the implementation of broadband optical network access in rural areas of Istria County and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Ericsson Nikola Tesla said on Tuesday.

The "Rural Network Project (RUNE) is the first and currently the only international project at the European level which connects the territory of several member countries by a unique cross-border optical network," the company said in a press release.

"With the construction of the network in rural areas which are currently not covered by optical infrastructure and where existing Internet service providers have no commercial interest, RUNE will help local authorities to achieve the goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2020.

Moreover, this will contribute to the liberalization of the electronic communication service market. In the end, this guarantees all operators an equal approach to end users under equal conditions."

The project is financed by the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF), as the first investment platform for the support of broadband infrastructure within the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), the company said.

More IT industry news can be found in the Business section.

In the presence of the County Prefect Zlatko Komadina, the headquarters of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County hosted the signing ceremony for a contract for the drafting of the project for the construction of Učka cable car, reports Lokalni.hr on February 14, 2019.

The contract was signed by the CEO of the Učka Cable Car company Milorad Stanić, and CEO of the Dalekovod-Projekt company Davor Đurđević. Representatives of Opatija and Lovran also attended the ceremony.

“The time has come to sign this contract, which will create the preconditions for applying with the project for EU funds. I hope that the ministries will change the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme application so that that cable car projects could be submitted, which is currently not the case. What I want to say is that every dream and every idea can be realised if we have persistent people. The county has always welcomed and supported all projects that present our cultural and natural heritage,” said Komadina. “The Učka cable car is something that fits perfectly with our ideas, both in the tourist aspect and the environmental protection aspect.”

Stanić stressed the importance of the contract for the project implementation. “I am pleased that we have prepared this contract and signed it with Dalekovod – an experienced company that has fulfilled all of our requirements for this major project, especially since the project itself is technically very demanding.”

According to the planned technical characteristics and with the length of almost 4,700 metres, the Učka cable car would be the longest in Europe counting from the starting point to the final station, without any intermediate stations, with an exceptionally large distance between the first and the second pillar of up to 1.5 km, which is an extremely demanding feature.

“The 1500 metre distance will actually be a three-minute flight of future users at the height of over 100 metres, which will surely create a new tourist product and experience, which will further enable the rebranding of the whole Kvarner destination. We are confident that the cable car could become for the entire Primorje-Gorski Kotar County what is now Postojna for Slovenia or the Krka waterfalls for Šibenik-Knin County,” said Stanić.

The total value of the planning phase of the project is 2.5 million kuna. The deadline for the drafting of the plan and obtaining the building permit is 150 days, which means that the construction could be ready to be launched as early as this summer.

The Učka Cable Car company has 268 stakeholders, including two counties (Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria), nine local self-government units (towns of Opatija, Rijeka, Kastav, Krk and municipalities of Lovran, Matulji, Mošćenička Draga, Omišalj and Kršan), as well as 36 business entities, tourist agencies and hotels, and 220 individuals, mostly people from the Kvarner region who support the project.

Translated from Lokalni.hr.

More news about Primorje-Gorski Kotar County can be found in the Lifestyle section.

New ferry lines are always needed, and it's one of the top complaints of Croatia's permanent island inhabitants, as the availability of their connection to the mainland is often governed too much by the tourist season. Primorje-Gorski Kotar County has decided to introduce a new Croatian ferry line which will connect the Municipality of Lopar and Baška, located on the nearby island of Krk.

As Morski writes on the 30th of November, 2018, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County has launched a welcome new ferry connection between Baska and Lopar, and the move was announced Primorje-Gorski Kotar County's deputy prefect, Marina Medarić.

Novi List reported that she spoke to the press on the matter and stated that the proposal for confirming the establishment of a year-round ferry connection which will cover the line of Baška-Lopar-Baška, will be one of the points of the County Assembly session this week.

The initiative was initiated by the Krk Harbour County Administration, and so far, the plans are for the connection to run once weekly during the more sparse winter months, twice weekly during the pre-season, and in the very height of the summer season, as many as four times per week.

If the County Assembly approves the proposal, the procedure of a public tender will be launched, where all interested shipping companies who desire to carry out the activity of this line will be able to make their interests known and submit their bids.

Make sure to keep up with our travel and news pages for more information on any other new Croatian ferry line, as well as for all the goings on from up and down the country, from continent to coast.

Click here for the original article by Tihana Tomicic for Novi List